HAITI: 1st week feeling!

When I have heard people utter in the past "God is good", I never really thought much of it... I never thought about what that truly could mean to someone! But I can honestly say those words with confidence right now!!!! I'm loving the precious babies and people at Children of the Promise, I love how the humidity affects my hair, I eat mac-n-cheese every morning for breakfast, and I get to save lives... :D Mmhm..yeah, God IS good!!!!!!!!!!!

I arrived in Cap Haitian, Haiti this past Saturday on a pretty tiny little plane. Coming from dry Arizona, the humidity hit me like a brick wall when I stepped off the plane! It is always so confusing to land in a country where the rules of life are different and the language is overwhelming to understand at first. I made it through customs without any problems and there was an incredible surprise waiting for me just past that-- AMY AND JENN! I was so thankful they were there to help me recover my luggage and get through the crowd of people gathered outside the airport. Local young boys walked us out to our truck and we made the, shall I say FUN, drive to Children of the Promise! Driving is Haiti is very, very different.... there aren't rules to the road at all. And the roads, for the most part, are pretty torn up. The experience of traveling through Haiti in a truck is a very unique experience!!!

When we got to Children of the Promise, there amount of short-term volunteers at the moment was shocking! I didn't even know where to start learning names, let alone names of the babies and nannies. But we'll just skip to the good stuff... stories of this place called Haiti :D.

One of the most special moments I had the other day was when a few children came in the gates seeking treatment for a wound--- After Amy and I worked with her, I walked her back out the gate holding her little hand and speaking softly in simple Creole with her. For some reason, that just made my heart happy!

Nursing in Haiti is a whole new battlefield. The resources at Children of the Promise far exceed what I anticipated, and I am so thankful for the supplies and things that we have to help give these babies medical care. The work day starts just before 7 am, and it does not end for the nurses until 8 or 9 pm. Now that day is filled with energizing and exciting things, but some nights are left without solid rest if a sick baby has to stay in our rooms and requires treatment throughout the night. I know some days in the future we will all go to take a day off and get outside the campus, but medications and sick babies never take a day off ;)!

We have had a few emergency situations with babies in just the few days I have been here-- the first story being of a baby who started experience respiratory distress... so much so that they were grunting! In nursing terms, that is a scary sign of a desperate need for immediate treatment!!!! We were able to give her breathing treatments and medicines to open up her airway. It is incredible to watch a baby struggling to breath and pretty much limp with no fight left transform into a strong, stubborn, and active one.. IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!!!!

I'm going to close this with this realization I had with this baby.. Say she wasn't at Children of the Promise and there weren't any people or supplies to save her life... Would she have lost her life in her "hut"? Babies and people here lose their lives' to pneumonia, sepsis, starvation, dehydration, etc... all completely treatable things. The babies here don't just want attention for a second then squirm out of your arms to go play with toys. No... the babies here crave to be held and cuddled like I literally cannot describe. They cling to you with everything in them. I may be able to use medical things to help them, but I consider it just as important to just cuddle them tightly. They need to know they are important and safe to thrive, just like every other child in the world! We underestimate love, attention, and affection sometimes. It is truly essential to life.

I shall post again soon... I cannot thank you all enough for your support and prayers!! I can't wait to share more experiences with you about the Haitian life. For the whole weekend until Tuesday, the other nurse will be gone out of the country so I'm going to be "on my own" not even a week into this! There is a sick baby staying with me tonight and I imagine I'll be up quite a bit taking care of them so I better try to catch a wink of sleep while I can.... :)